Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Keeping It Real...'Liberal'

Thanks, Joe Trippi, for including me on your e-mail list.

I'm not sure what treacherous liberal bastard gave or sold you my e-mail address but it's very easy for me to continue my work looking into how Simon Rosenberg, Rob Stein (and you, Mr. Trippi) are selling out the left while actively promoting the "liberal" bloggers who belong to BlogPAC if all I gotta do is check my inbox.

I'm not sure if this e-mail and conference call qualifies as an endorsement for a candidate for the office of Public Advocate, but it seems to come pretty close, at least (but then Joe, you did explicitly endorse Andrew Rasiej at your blog a few months back, though it's not mentioned in your invite).

Norman Siegel, the longtime civil rights and civil liberties activist and the former Executive Director of the NYCLU is the candidate that I'm supporting for Public Advocate, but maybe I've made a mistake.

After all, other "liberal" bloggers that I respect such as Jeff Jarvis and Instapundit seem to think an awful lot about Andrew Rasiej (which is trumpeted about at Rasiej's campaign blog) and they especially dig the column that my favorite "liberal" pundit, Thomas Friedman wrote about Andrew for The New York Times.

And just like Simon Rosenberg and Joe Trippi, Andrew Rasiej seems to be a loyal friend to his buddies in the blogosphere. Like it says at his Website:

"By now, many Democratic activists know that there are a couple of places on the web that have become hubs engaging tens of thousands of people in a constant conversation over the news, the direction of the country and what we can do to affect current events. I’m talking about sites like DailyKos.com, Talking Points Memo, and Eschaton."

This editorial that Andrew Rasiej wrote for the "liberal" New York Sun attacking the ACLU the other day is also a real vote swayer for a liberal like me.

Sometimes, politics has to be about more than fighting the Right and
defeating its latest terrible idea or nominee. It should also be about
moving forward, making government work for all of us, and giving
people a greater say in the decisions that affect their lives.
That's why we're writing you about Andrew Rasiej, candidate for New
York City Public Advocate, and inviting you to join a national
bloggers conference call this Wednesday from 4:30 to 5:30pm EST to
meet him and find out why he's running.
At first glance, you're probably thinking, "Why should I pay attention
to this race? It's hardly the most powerful office in New York, and
whatever happens in the primary I'm sure it will be held by a
Democrat." And you'd be half-right; in a city dominated by registered
Democrats, there isn't a serious Republican vying for the office.
But what happens in New York City can affect politics across America,
as we know all too well. And more than just about any major candidate
that we know, Andrew is running to prove that the power of networked
politics is real and can fundamentally alter not just campaigns, but
also how citizens and elected officials engage in civic life.
He's a candidate of new ideas, and here are his two most important
proposals:
1. To make America's largest city a Wi-Fi hotzone, and to close the
digital divide by creating a low-cost, high-speed wireless mesh network
for everyone in
the city.
2. To use the ideas behind open-source and peer-to-peer networks to
reinvent the Public Advocate's office, and turn from being one person's
modest
soapbox into a sounding board, connecting hub and amplifying megaphone
for all the hundreds of
thousands of volunteer public advocates in the city.
Andrew's getting attention for his innovative and common-sense
approach, as these articles by Thomas Friedman (http://www.iht.com/
protected/articles/2005/08/03/opinion/edfried.php), Errol Louis
(http://www.nydailynews.com/05-24-2005/news/col/story/
312362p-267188c.html) and David Kirkpatrick (http://www.fortune.com/
fortune/fastforward/0,15704,1085718,00.html) show.
And he's not just a idea guy; he has a track record of getting things
done. From starting the rock club Irving Plaza to founding MOUSE.org,
an education nonprofit that has trained thousands of NYC students to
be their schools' own technologists, to advising top Democrats like
Tom Daschle, Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean, to starting the Personal
Democracy Forum—he is a doer, not just a talker.
You may not agree with everything he has to say, but we urge you to
give him a listen. Check out what he's saying right now over at
Talking Points Memo Cafe: http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/
2005/8/15/8488/56208. In our view, for the next four weeks until the
Democratic primary, this is the most interesting race in the country.
To join the conference call, please RSVP to info@rasiej.com . The
dial-up number is 563-843-7510 and passcode is 884105#. The call will
start with the audience muted, but after some opening remarks we'll
open it up for questions and dialogue.
Sincerely,
Joe Trippi (JoeTrippi.com)
Jerome Armstrong (MyDD.com)
Bob Brigham (SwingStateProject.com)
Liza Sabater (DailyGotham.com)
Jeff Tiedrich (SmirkingChimp.com)
--
Reconnect New York: Andrew Rasiej for Public Advocate
http://www.advocatesforrasiej.com

In a May interview with Andrew Rasiej The Gothamist a publisher's note was added:

"Gothamist has run some ads for Mr. Rasiej's campaign, but our editorial and publishing operations are entirely separate, and no advertisement ever affects our interview schedule or contents."

Great. What a relief. As I'm a huge fan of tranparency.

BlogPAC rocks because they're there for us liberals.

(Note: Although the e-mail doesn't mention BlogPAC, according to 2004 I.R.S. filings, Jerome Armstrong acts as President of the "liberal" blogger political action committee)

Contributors

"Or take this guy, Ron Brynaert, a tenacious (lefty, stand alone) investigator with an instinct for where information and proof and the jugular are. He's a natural: Why isn't he on someone's I-team?" Jay Rosen, June 6, 2005.